Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To finish or decorate the border or edge of.
- noun An ornamental border or edging.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A decorated or wrought border; a border of embroidered work.
- noun Specifically, in heraldry, a border of one of the furs: not common, for a border purfle ermine means no more than a border ermine. An attempt has been made to discriminate the number of rows of the bells of the fur by the terms purfled, counter-purfled, and vair, for one, two, and three rows. It is not usual.
- To ornament or decorate with a wrought or flowered border; border.
- To edge with fur.
- To line with fur: as, a mantling purfled and bordered vair.
- In heraldry, to decorate with gold mountings, such as the studs or bosses in armor, as in the phrase “a leg in armor proper, purfled or.”
- In architecture, to decorate richly, as with sculpture.
- In viol-making, to decorate (the edges of the body of an instrument) with a wavy inlay of valuable wood.
- To mark or draw in profile.
- To hem a border.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To decorate with a wrought or flowered border; to embroider; to ornament with metallic threads.
- transitive verb (Her.) To ornament with a bordure of emines, furs, and the like; also, with gold studs or mountings.
- noun A hem, border., or trimming, as of embroidered work.
- noun (Her.) A border of any heraldic fur.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An ornamental border on
clothing ,furniture or aviolin ;beading ,stringing . - verb transitive, archaic To decorate (wood, cloth etc.) with a purfle or ornamental
border ; toborder . - verb heraldry, transitive To
ornament with abordure ofermines ,furs , etc. or with gold studs or mountings.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Well, said Arthur, thou hast said thy message, the which is the most villainous and lewdest message that ever man heard sent unto a king; also thou mayest see my beard is full young yet to make a purfle of it.
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For a while they followed a mountain stream edged with a lacy purfle of winter's last ice.
Pawns and Symbols Majliss Larson 2000
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Well, said Arthur, thou hast said thy message, the which is the most villainous and lewdest message that ever man heard sent unto a king; also thou mayest see my beard is full young yet to make a purfle of it.
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CRUDOR _ (Sir) _, the knight who told Bria'na he would not marry her till she brought him enough hair, consisting of ladies 'locks and the beards of knights to purfle his cloak with.
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook Ebenezer Cobham Brewer 1853
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Hast aught plotting in the hem of thy purfle, or in thy holiday ruff and fardingale?
Traditions of Lancashire, Volume 1 (of 2) John Roby 1821
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If he can raise a purfle author's laws practically 200,000 places in Amazon's society with
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Whatever is chosen would also have some type of purfle along the edge and on the top side as I always do.
Mandolin Cafe News 2009
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Whatever is chosen would also have some type of purfle along the edge and on the top side as I always do.
Mandolin Cafe News 2009
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_to purfle_ survives in the contracted form _to purl_, and is cognate with profile = a front line or edge. ~shew~: here rhymes with _dew_; comp. l.
Milton's Comus John Milton 1641
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"Well," said Arthur, "thou hast said thy message, the which is the most villainous and lewdest message that ever man heard sent unto a king; also thou mayest see my beard is full young yet to make a purfle of it.
Children's Literature A Textbook of Sources for Teachers and Teacher-Training Classes Charles Madison Curry 1906
qms commented on the word purfle
Some carve an edge as a kerf will
And some like a border more girthful.
Give me a shape bound
By a luscious surround:
The disciplined riot of purfle.
December 7, 2014